All But One
Clash
Dark strands of hair ruffled in the wind as Venge stepped out from the Shera, casting his gaze upon the WRO Commissioner, whose eyes emitted confusion and alertness. Reaching into his jacket pocket, Venge retrieved a single red sphere—a summon materia.
"Forgive me, Commissioner, but we've not the time to deal with you. It's a shame…I didn't even mark you as a target, yet you seem to be the first one to suffer."
Reeve grimaced as he watched the man's arm radiate a dark red glow, the very air around him swirling around in an unnatural torrent. This was definitely not good.
"Now if you'll excuse us, we'll be heading our way, but perhaps I can entertain you with a little pet of mine."
Reeve gasped as Venge thrust his arm into the air, causing the ground to tremble beneath their feet as the earth crackled and ripped in a violent quake. Reeve stepped back, his eyes widening as he witnessed the emergence of a creature from the depths, its hide covered in rubble and steel, its hideous visage barbed with rocks and iron.
Reeve was left to watch in terror as the goliath known as Neo Titan climbed out from the great schism in the ground, towering over his form and leaving him wide-eyed. From the corner of his eye, he saw Cloud and Cid run off into the WRO Building, while Venge re-entered the Shera, taking flight and leaving him to face this terrestrial abomination.
"Cloud! Cid! Where the hell are you going?!"
Too late; they were out of sight.
Instead of unleashing an ear-shattering roar as Reeve expected, the creature immediately began to dash forward, stomping across pavement and leaving huge cracks in its wake. Reeve pulled out the blade from his jacket, and squeezed the small button at the bottom of the hilt, summoning his own personal bodyguard, Cait Sith. Unfortunately, the nearest one would take at least ten to fifteen minutes to respond to the signal, and then he'd have to wait another five minutes for it to arrive.
He dove to the left, gasping as his car crumbled under the heavy blow of the monster, and began to sprint down the street. Reeve needed to get out of here; he was no match for this creature.
As soon as he reached the nearest building, he felt the ground quake beneath him and watched in terror as Neo Titan reanimated itself right next to where he stood. Damn! This thing can swim through the ground!
Reeve slammed through the doors of the building, ignoring the large sign in the lobby that read "Edge Turn Mall," and headed straight for the stairs; his only chance was to get off the damn ground. Neo Titan smashed its way through the lobby, swinging its colossal trunks of arms and obliterating anything that stood in its way.
"RUN!" Reeve yelled, waving his arm madly at the custodian on the second floor. "GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE! RUN!"
The old man dropped his mop, frozen in horror as the creature of rocks and metal stomped up the stairway, closing in the distance between them. Reeve cursed and turned back, grabbing the janitor by his collar and tugging him back.
"Come on! We have to run!"
The man gave a quick nod, but instead of following him, he rushed towards the elevator. Reeve let out another shout, but he was too late. The monster swiped its massive limb across the air, sending the helpless man flying through the room and collapsing limply to the floor. Reeve cursed, and twisted around.
Making his way towards the next flight of stairs, Reeve prayed that Cait would arrive soon. He jerked to the right, rolling across the tiled floor as a mannequin was thrown past him, and shattered a large glass tank that advertised fragrant perfumes. Jumping back to his feet, he grabbed the fire extinguisher that was hung up on the near wall, and slammed it against the titan, crumbling some of the rocks on its hide. Reeve ducked low, barely missing the counterattack, and rolled to the side, fleeing from the enraged beast. After dodging a flying lamp stand and a rack of expensive suits, Reeve turned at the corner, heading up the stairwell, hopping three steps at a time.
Damn, he thought. Maybe I should've listened to Yuffie and taken some wushu lessons.
The next floor was full of things like kitchenware and dishes. This wasn't a good thing, considering the sharp knives and forks that were stacked up here and there. He dashed across the floor, wincing as an entire table of chinaware was thrown past him.
Reeve grabbed a carton of oil and unscrewed the top as he continued to sprint towards the opposite wall. The oil poured down onto the floor and created pools of slick brown.
Neo Titan skidded across the floor, smashing everything in its way and finally slamming into the wall, crumbling it over his collapsed form.
Reeve grinned. That bastard was big, but he was dumb as hell. Reeve would have to use his brains to survive in this fight.
He snatched up another carton of gasoline and aimed it at his enemy, squeezing the bottle with his fingers and spraying a stream of liquid at the angered abomination. When the monster began to approach him again, Reeve tossed aside the gasoline and grabbed a packaged lighter that hung from the wall. Using his teeth to break apart the plastic wrapping, he grabbed the lighter and put it into his pocket, still running towards the next flight of stairs.
The fourth floor consisted of more women's wear.
Reeve dashed to the center of the floor, where the fragrances and cosmetics were located in glass containers. He smashed his elbow against the surface, shattered the glass, and pulled out the largest can of hairspray. Neo Titan was now ascending the stairs.
Reeve threw off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. He pulled out the lighter, and clicked it on, waiting for the beast to come just a little closer. He was going to have one hell of a barbeque.
When the monster was about five feet away, Reeve pressed down on the hairspray and winced as the flames roared out from his hands, smothering his enemy in a coat of fire. He aimed for the eyes, knowing that fire would do little harm against a creature made out of stone, but through this, he would at least blind the son of a bitch.
When the hairspray finally gave out, Reeve tossed it away and made a run for it, wincing as the infuriated beast roared out in anger.
This damn game of cat and mouse was starting to wear him out; Reeve Tuetsi was a commissioner, not a fighter!
Neo Titan was having a tantrum. In blind rage, it swung its arms at everything near it, causing clothes racks and lingerie shelves to burst out in every direction. Reeve felt a slight jab at his back from a flying facial cream bottle, but continued to run towards the next stairwell.
Just as he was about to head through the exit, Reeve was knocked to the side, his ribs cracking at the impact of the blow. He cursed at the pain and saw that it had been a cash register. His side was searing, but he had to run. He had to run…he had to…
He felt a warm liquid ooze down his forehead.
Was this blood? Reeve wiped his hand across the back of his head, and gaped at the thick liquid that dripped from his fingers. He lay near the stairwell, ignoring the ceaseless rampage of the blinded beast, and cursed.
After that, he saw darkness.
-xXx-
Tifa closed her eyes, shivering slightly at the cold breeze of the night. It was probably around two or three a.m. now, and Tifa still hadn't gotten any sleep. Nevertheless, all she wanted right now was some fresh air, considering she'd been inhaling the metallic scent of blood for the past few hours. She just needed to cool down, and think.
Two years ago, when the Remnants attacked, Tifa had been caught off guard as she had thought the world had finally gained peace after the fall of Sephiroth and Meteor. Regardless to her desires however, they had all been forced to take up their weapons and fight yet again.
This time was no different.
No matter how hard you fight, no matter how hard you struggle to protect those you love, there would always be more fighting, more struggling. This is what she realized. There would never be permanent peace. Even if Reeve succeeded in bringing a new order to the world, someone…or something would inevitably strike back, ridding peace yet again. She knew this was true, and she had accepted it.
But this time, Cloud wasn't here to comfort her, to tell her it was going to be okay. Cloud wasn't here to lead them into the fight. The last time she was forced to fight without Cloud nearby, she had been weak. She had lost to a Remnant. A single Remnant, when Cloud was able to take on all three of them at once.
Maybe it was time for her to find her own strength. Tifa had always depended on companionship and teamwork to overcome the struggles of fighting, but now, she was alone. This was her fight. Not Vincent's, not Yuffie's. It was hers.
She would bring back Cloud.
She would marry him.
She swore to herself.
As these thoughts encircled her mind, Tifa Lockhart didn't notice the distant hum of an airship approaching. She was crouching near the hatch, letting her thoughts take over, and was not aware of the fact that her fight was now. It wasn't until the Shera was hovering straight above her that Tifa glanced up, her eyes emitting confusion and shock as a dark-haired man descended from the air, landing only yards away form where she stood.
At first, Venge hadn't recognized her.
At first, Tifa had no idea who he was.
At first, they merely gawked at each other, their gazes showing mixtures of attention and disbelief.
After a moment of utter silence, Venge was the first to react, his eyes widening and jaw dropping at the sight of Tifa Lockhart, appearing as if she had been waiting for his arrival.
"Who are you?!" she snapped, her eyes full of suspicion.
Venge remained quiet, his left hand slowly reaching back for the pair of gloves in his back pocket.
Tifa had caught the act.
She immediately charged forward, swinging a bare fist at the man, but missed. Venge gritted his teeth and launched himself back. This was not supposed to happen! She was supposed to be sleeping!
Tifa relentlessly pushed forward, swinging, kicking, thrusting, and swiping, but all of her attacks were easily blocked or dodged by her foe. While they continued to clash, Tifa abruptly reached out, grabbing the man by his collar, tugging down and slamming her knee into his forehead, sending him flying back to a heap of rubble.
"Who are you?!" she yelled, approaching the fallen man.
Venge clutched his head with both hands, grimacing at the pain.
"This was not supposed to happen!"
"What was not supposed to happen?!"
Venge swiped a hand across his lips, tasting the blood at the tip of his tongue.
"It looks like I'll have to end it here and now," he muttered. "I'll kill you now, Tifa Lockhart!"
Tifa ducked low and missed the kick, pushing forward and ramming her shoulder into his other leg, but he swiftly regained his balance and came back with another counterattack. Using her forearms as shields, Tifa blocked the next four punches and retaliated with a thrust aimed at his chest. She missed. Tifa felt a hard blow to her jaw, but immediately caught his leg before he could finish the attack. She twisted the limb, sending him crashing to the ground, and slammed her spiked elbow into his shoulder.
Venge hissed in pain.
"Who are you?!" Tifa shouted, her elbow still pinned against his back.
"Shut up!" he screamed, struggling and writhing under her hold.
Tifa was about to say something, but she was interrupted by a sharp blow to the left side of her face, causing her to slam down next to her foe.
"Que'd! Are you alright?!"
Rosianna knelt down, resting her hand on the man's good shoulder.
"She was awake!" Venge yelled. "She was awake!"
Tifa shot back up to her feet, dashing forward for another attack, but instead, she was flown back by a large blast of fire, which smoldered the lower portion of her black top. Tifa clutched her side, groaning at the burning pain.
"Finish her!" Venge yelled. "Finish her now!"
Rosianna lifted her arm. The air around her began to swirl violently, heating up at a rapid pace and causing the rocks beneath her to redden. Tifa glanced up and gasped.
The entire vicinity of Sector Six illuminated at the fiery eruption of the blast, an ear-shattering roar trembling the very earth as a cloud of smoke and dust shrouded the area in a blinding mist.
Tifa opened her eyes.
She was still alive.
She looked up to see the silhouette of a man, long-haired. The man turned, crouching down next to her. It was Tseng.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
Tifa nodded.
Tseng returned to his feet and gazed over his shoulder, straining his eyes to see through the dust.
When he was able to make out the face of the man Tifa had fought, Tseng gasped.
For it was not Venge, he saw.
It was his younger brother.
Que'd.